HATTIESBURG, Miss- The Lee men's basketball team's bid to remain undefeated came up just short Saturday evening as they fell to William Carey, 82-79.
The third-ranked Flames had the ball with just six seconds remaining but Will Barnes was never able to get off the game tying 3-point attempt as the ball was stolen away along with the perfect record. Lee falls to 13-1 on the season (5-1 SSAC). The victory moves the No. 10 Crusaders to 13-2 (6-0 SSAC).
The Flames entered the halftime break with a 44-36 advantage but could not overcome a 20-6 run by William Carey to start the second half. Lee appeared to have weathered the storm down just five and with possession of the ball when a techincal foul was called on the Flames with 7:27 to play. William Carey would hit both foul shots to extend the lead and deflate the comeback attempt.
An even bigger loss came when senior Steve Bennett stepped on the floor during the technical foul altercation. Bennett was preparing to check into the game at the scorer's table but stepped onto the court prematurely and was ejected from the game and, by rule, will also miss the following game Thursday against Southern Wesleyan.
" I was disappointed that Steve (Bennett) went onto the court. He didn't come off the bench he was at the scorer's table getting ready to check-in but he has got to know not to step onto the court" said Coach Brown about the altercation. "I was very proud of how our guys handle themselves and kept their composure though."
Leading the way for the Flames was senior Will Barnes with 17 points. Sophomore Corey Billingsley had 15 markers and was 6-of-8 from the charity stripe, doing most of his damage in the second-half. Senior Patrick Shaughnessy added 11 points and eight rebounds, making 5-of-6 from the field. Senior Duran Blue chipped in 11 points and junior Jamorris Gaines, playing in his second game with the Flames, registered nine points going 3-of-4 from the 3-point line.
"We missed some free throws and turned the ball over too many times down the stretch." added Brown. "William Carey has some very athletic wing players and they made some plays and hit their foul shots."
Lee shot 43 percent from the field (29-of-67) and 37 percent from 3-point distance (10-of-27). William Carey also shot 43 percent from field (27-of-62) but did most of their damage at the foul line hitting 21 freebies on 27 attempts. Both teams committed 12 turnovers and the Crusaders held a slim 42-41 advantage in the rebounding department.
William Carey was led by Jeremiah Dunnings who scored 28 points, going a perfect 11-of-11 from the foul line. Kelvin Nixon added 18 points and Daron Bell had 17 markers and eight rebounds for the Mississippi club.
The Flames will continue the road trip on Thursday as they head to Central, S.C. to battle Southern Wesleyan before returning home next Saturday to square off with Coastal Georgia.
